THE Northern Marianas Professional Firefighters Union last week asked the Commonwealth Ports Authority to resume negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement or CBA.
In a follow-up letter to CPA Board of Directors Chairman Ramon A. Tebuteb and Executive Director Estrellita Ada, the union’s president, Paul B. Sasamoto, said they are respectfully requesting the resumption of negotiations to discuss important labor and employment issues pertaining to the safety, health, and well-being of CPA’s firefighters.
“It is only through your leadership and with your support that we will materialize a very professional, well-disciplined, highly qualified, fully trained, and equipped firefighting workforce that will ultimately lead to a better quality of life for employees within CPA-ARFF,” Sasamoto said. ARFF stands for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting.
Sasamoto wrote his initial letter on May 9, 2025, asking the executive director to schedule the CBA negotiations. However, the union leader said, “we have not received any official response after much follow-up.”
Officially known as the International Association of Fire Fighters – Local 5335, NMPFU was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the Department of Commerce in April 2021 and was chartered in May 2021.
